69 again this morning, still very humid. Mostly clear. We got into the low 80's yesterday, but it sure felt hotter.
I went out and planted some iris rhizomes this morning, hoping to avoid the heat. It was only 74 but I came in dripping with sweat, and it took a long time to cool off. This weather makes garden work not very pleasant. I pulled a lot of weeds while I was out there, so the garden looks a little better, but still a lot of work to do.
I believe the hummingbirds have left us. They were here yesterday but I have not seen them this morning. We will miss their lively company; they will fly right up to us when we're in the yard or on the porch. One we call Mr. Chatty because he chatters the whole time he's at the feeder. I did see a Cedar Waxwing in the maple this morning, and the summer tanagers are still here, but I expect them to fly south before long. It's a pleasure to know that they come back each year. This year we had several that nested around our place, and I think that some of them may be the offspring from past years.
The tomatoes, as I noted yesterday, are winding down, but the yellow oxhearts are still going strong and producing some huge tomatoes. They came on very late, but that's kind of nice because now we have them as the others slowly quit producing and die back.
Late summer is a sad kind of time, isn't it? The birds leave us, the gardens die back...but then will come the beautiful colors, the late flowers, crisp evenings. I am looking forward to those things, and to longer evenings inside. But I will look back on the summer, and even though the heat was bad this year, the memories of early mornings on the porch, the greenness of the gardens and the brightly colored birds at the feeders will make me smile, and look forward to it all again next year.
Our hummingbirds are still as lively as ever, fighting over the feeder. I've been trying to do some flower garden clean up as well--slow work, but so satisfying when it's done. Next will be the neglected veggie garden. It stopped producing about the first of September and I haven't been in it since. It's a jungle out there.....
ReplyDeleteMy flower gardens are suffering from lack of attention for sure. I've been in the kitchen so much, poor things have been ignored. Larry's kept up with the veggie gardens, thank goodness. At least, for the most part he has. I need to get out and add the fall fertilizers for the bulbs. Never enough hours.
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